Calistri's Corner

I hate this part of the WSOP.  Although I miss home like nobody’s business, in some ways, I wish the preliminary events would go on forever.  For five weeks I have strolled through the Rio; being able to count on seeing my poker friends and acquaintences.  It’s been my temporary neighborhood.  And now, one by one, my neighbors are moving out.   

I had a chance to talk to Andy Black (pictured above) during the Deuce to Seven event.  He had said that he was going to catch a plane as soon as he busted out of the Main Event.  Black was eliminated Friday and I haven’t seen him since.  After reading his blog forever, I finally got to meet Terrence Chan (pictured below)  - but alas now he is done with his Main Event. 

Greg Mueller, John D’Agostino, Joe Awada, Mel Judah, Vanessa Selbst…gone.  There will be a few eliminated pros that won’t evaporate like a drop of water on the hot Las Vegas pavement.  I’m guessing that although Michael Mizrachi (pictued below) has been eliminated, he’ll stick around to sweat his brother Robert who has made Day Two.   And I suspect that many of the busted Full Tilt pros like Erik Siedel and Howard Lederer may stick around.  But for the most part, the pros have put in weeks of hard work and they are done - and more than ready to escape.

I was glad to see that my friend and writer Lou Krieger safely negotiated past his Day One yesterday.  And I’ll be sweating Dave Scharf, former editor of Canadian Poker Player Magazine, in today’s field.  But as is true of any tournament, I’ll lose more friends than I maintain over the next week.  This, after all,  is a game of attrition. 

I know the players would much rather be staying on - as that would mean their WSOP dream hadn’t come to an end.  Even as I know this, I somehow feel deserted by each and every one of their departures.               

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.